Indie Rock From The Ophelias

Summary

All Of It Podcast Summary: Indie Rock From The Ophelias

Episode Title: Indie Rock From The Ophelias
Host: Alison Stewart
Release Date: August 15, 2025
Podcast: All Of It by WNYC
Description: ALL OF IT is a show about culture and its consumers, engaging thinkers, doers, makers, and creators in discussions about the what and why of their work.

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Introduction

In this episode of All Of It, host Alison Stewart delves into the vibrant world of indie rock with an in-depth conversation featuring The Ophelias, an acclaimed band originally from Cincinnati, now making waves in New York City. The discussion centers around their highly anticipated fourth album, "Spring Grove," produced by Julian Baker of Boygenius.

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Album Preview and Live Performance

The episode kicks off with a special live performance by The Ophelias, featuring their new single "Cumulonimbus." The performance showcases the band's dynamic range and lyrical depth, setting the stage for the detailed conversation to follow.

Notable Lyrics from "Cumulonimbus":

Mick Adams [01:14]: "Not like I could have told the future but it makes sense."
Joe Schaeffer [02:14]: "On the back window cursing at nothing, smashing the tail lights and waving hello."
Spencer Pepitt [04:56]: "You locked in the trunk of the car are going to start to bang."

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In-Depth Interview Highlights

1. Song Selection Process

Alison Stewart initiates the conversation by inquiring about the band's unique method of selecting songs for the album using rank-choice voting.

Spencer Pepitt [05:13]:
"Yeah, so it was me, my three bandmates and our producer, Julian Baker of Boygenius, etc. I sent her a Google Drive folder of, I think, 20-something songs. And so everyone made a rank choice list of their favorites. And, you know, it was like three absolute non-negotiables and then the rest that we would like to do. And it was cool. A lot of people had the same favorites, which ended up, you know, the one we just played was the first single from the record, and that was on everyone's list."

This collaborative approach ensured that the album "Spring Grove" reflects the collective vision of the band members and their producer.

2. Album Title: "Spring Grove"

The title "Spring Grove" holds significant meaning for the band, tying back to a personal connection with a cemetery in Cincinnati.

Spencer Pepitt [05:58]:
"Yeah, you know, that is also a song on the record. And we didn't know what the record was going to be called when we recorded it. And we did that song and we were driving home and Mick, our drummer, and Andrea, our violinist, who is in grad school right now, so she's not here with us, but the two of them said that has to be the title for the record. So I don't know. I like it when they tell me what the title should be. I like that."

The title encapsulates the album's themes of reflection and transition, mirroring the band's own journey.

3. Collaboration with Producer Julian Baker

Working with Julian Baker marked a pivotal moment for The Ophelias, enhancing the album's production quality and creative direction.

Spencer Pepitt [06:38]:
"I mean, it was a huge honor. Like, I kind of can't even accurately express that. Yeah, she had sung harmonies on another song of ours from our previous record. And we got a call, like, a couple weeks after she did that, and they said she wants to produce her next record and."

Julian Baker's influence is evident in the album's warm and inviting studio atmosphere, as well as the band's polished sound.

Spencer Pepitt [07:24]:
"We kept everything set up so we could move between different stations. So if something wasn't working or we were getting frustrated and couldn't play a part, or for whatever reason, we would just kind of move around. It felt very fluid."

Her ability to "control time" in the studio allowed the band to explore their creativity without the usual time constraints.

4. Defining "Moth Music"

The Ophelias describe their music as "moth music," a term coined by their violinist Andrea during the band's inception in high school.

Spencer Pepitt [08:25]:
"Andrea coined that term when we started the band in high school, which is crazy. I think I know now what it means. Like, 10 years later. I would say it means cathartic, orchestral indie rock."

This genre blend highlights the band's unique sound, combining emotional depth with intricate instrumentation.

5. Exploring Identity and Trans Representation

A significant portion of the conversation addresses the band's exploration of identity, particularly focusing on members Joe Schaeffer and Mick Adams, who are both trans.

Spencer Pepitt [09:08]:
"You know, I think I kind of feel like all music is about identity, whoever is writing it. So as we kind of started to explore these other facets for context, Joe, our bassist, and Mick, our drummer, are both trans. Mick is a trans man. Joe is a trans woman. And that stuff kind of bubbled up over the last few years, and they both came out, and I don't know, hearing them talk about it in this press cycle has been so wonderful and so illuminating."

The band emphasizes that their evolving identities have significantly influenced their music, leading to more confident and authentic expressions.

Spencer Pepitt [09:08]:
"I feel like you don't often get to have, you know, trans people in conversation with each other, talking about something like a record that we have made together. Right. So I'll just kind of parrot what they said, which is it feels like we've all gotten a lot more confident in ourselves, and I think that is reflected in the music that we've made."

This authenticity resonates throughout "Spring Grove," making it a landmark album in their discography.

6. Anticipation for Tour and Live Shows

With the album release imminent, the band expresses immense excitement about the upcoming North American tour.

Spencer Pepitt [10:37]:
"You know, it took a long time for this album to come out. We've been sitting on it for, like, three years. I mean, mixing it took a long time. And getting it kind of ready to enter the world just took longer. And so I have been joking. I kind of feel like I've been pregnant for like three years."

The band likens the album release to a birth, signifying the culmination of years of hard work and creativity.

Spencer Pepitt [10:37]:
"I'm really thrilled to kind of birth, I guess, the record into the world. Yeah, I'm really excited about these shows. I feel like our live set has gotten. You wouldn't be able to tell from this, but a lot louder. We're in a library, so we're being very quiet. But I feel like our live set has definitely gotten tighter and louder and more complex over the last few years. And I'm excited to play a lot of these songs live for the first time at these shows."

The upcoming performances promise a more robust and intricate live experience, reflecting the band's artistic growth.

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Live Performances Featured in the Episode

1. "Cumulonimbus"
The episode features a live rendition of "Cumulonimbus," highlighting the band's ability to blend poetic lyrics with compelling melodies.

Notable Lyrics:

Mick Adams [01:56]: "You locked in the trunk of the car are going to start to bang."
Joe Schaeffer [02:14]: "On the back window cursing at nothing, smashing the tail lights and waving hello."

2. "Open Sky"
Later in the episode, The Ophelias perform "Open Sky," a song that continues to showcase their lyrical storytelling and dynamic instrumentation.

Notable Lyrics:

Mick Adams [11:51]: "Control me in your back pocket again I'm sorry for everything he said I don't see you anymore it's been three years I'm better off."
Joe Schaeffer [12:30]: "For you."

3. "Vulture Tree"
The final live performance, "Vulture Tree," encapsulates the band's mastery in creating emotionally charged and thematically rich music.

Notable Lyrics:

Mick Adams [15:36]: "Reconvene at the vulture tree count 117 days I scrubbed at the stain in the corners."
Joe Schaeffer [16:11]: "Get rid of you I have to burn effigy."

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Conclusion

The Ophelias' episode on All Of It offers listeners an intimate glimpse into the band's creative process, thematic explorations, and the journey behind their latest album, "Spring Grove." With heartfelt discussions on identity, collaboration with Julian Baker, and an excited anticipation for their North American tour, The Ophelias showcase their growth and commitment to authentic expression in indie rock.

Upcoming in All Of It:
After a brief break, Alison Stewart previews the next hour's content, including a discussion with Tony Award-winning playwright Brandon Jacobs Jenkins and actors Harry Lennox and John Michael Hill about the new Broadway play "Purpose." Additionally, an analysis of the recent New York Times article "The Gen X Career Meltdown" is featured.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Spencer Pepitt [05:13]: "A lot of people had the same favorites, which ended up... on everyone's list."
• Spencer Pepitt [07:24]: "Julian can control time... it felt like we were on the right side of the clock somehow."
• Spencer Pepitt [08:25]: "Moth music means cathartic, orchestral indie rock."
• Spencer Pepitt [09:08]: "Our music reflects a lot more confidence in ourselves."
• Spencer Pepitt [10:37]: "I kind of feel like I've been pregnant for like three years."

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of The Ophelias' appearance on All Of It, highlighting their artistic journey, collaborative spirit, and the heartfelt themes that define their music.

Transcript

[Alison Stewart]

You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. The indie rock band the Ophelias, formed in Cincinnati, and its lead singer and songwriter, Spencer Pepitt, now lives here in New York. The Ophelias fourth album, Spring Grove, is out today. It was produced by boy genius member Julian Baker. So we were excited to get an album preview a few days early at our get lit with Olivet book club event. We were joined by band members Spencer Pippett, Joe Schaeffer, Mick Adams and Kate Goddard. Tomorrow, the Ophelias kick off a North American tour with the show at the Broadway in Brooklyn. In just a bit, you'll hear my interview with Spencer Peppitt, the band's lead singer.

[Spencer Pepitt]

But.

[Alison Stewart]

But first, here are the Ophelias with a special live performance of their new song, Cumulonimbus.

[Mick Adams]

Not like I could have told the future but it makes sense.

[Joe Schaeffer]

That in.

[Mick Adams]

The years to come you wish me all the best and I don't doubt it for a second that you know it's cruel you are already prematurely gray so you can choose the rules.

[Joe Schaeffer]

I know that you are gonna miss me more than you say well, the memories.

[Mick Adams]

You locked in the trunk of the car are going to start to bang.

[Joe Schaeffer]

On the back window Cursing at nothing Smashing the tail lights and waving hello.

[Mick Adams]

Saying you all over not like I'm blissful being stuck in here My palpitations last so long that I can overhear the next decision's being made without me in the room these things are predetermined.

[Joe Schaeffer]

And mom, don't I know that you are going to miss me more than.

[Mick Adams]

You say.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Well, the things that I didn't say are always going to hang above you like a cumulum embrace I am on your heels running like it's.

[Mick Adams]

Nothing.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Cling to the shadow of a.

[Mick Adams]

Doubt without it everything is clear.

[Joe Schaeffer]

I am sorry I didn't talk.

[Mick Adams]

Looking back a skittish year I've been.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Forcing my way through like a high.

[Mick Adams]

School kid.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Everything to work out on.

[Mick Adams]

The other end I know that you.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Are gonna miss me more than you.

[Mick Adams]

Know you will the sweetness of being.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Young and unaware Spring was clear and.

[Mick Adams]

Bright we drove down to the R.

[Joe Schaeffer]

I thought I could see the end but it all disappeared.

[Spencer Pepitt]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

All right, so I read that a bunch of your demos you recorded in 2020 and used like a rank choice voting for what would end up on the album. How did that work?

[Spencer Pepitt]

Yeah, so it was me, my three bandmates and our producer, Julian Baker of Boy Genius, et cetera. And I Sent her a Google Drive folder of, I think 20 something songs. And so everyone made a rank choice list of their favorites. And, you know, it was like three absolute non negotiables and then the rest that we would like to do. And it was cool. A lot of people had the same favorites, which ended up, you know, the one we just played was the first single from the record, and that was on everyone's list.

[Alison Stewart]

I think the new album is called Spring Grove.

[Spencer Pepitt]

It is.

[Alison Stewart]

I understand that's the name of a funeral home.

[Spencer Pepitt]

Cemetery.

[Alison Stewart]

Cemetery. A cemetery in Cincinnati. How did it become the right title for the album?

[Spencer Pepitt]

Yeah, you know, that is also a song on the record. And we didn't know what the record was going to be called when we recorded it. And we did that song and we were driving home and Mick, our drummer, and Andrea, our violinist, who is in grad school right now, so she's not here with us, but the two of them said that has to be the title for the record. So I don't know. I like it when they tell me what the title should be. I like that.

[Alison Stewart]

As you said, Julian Baker produced this record. What did it mean to you? This is the first record she's produced. What did it mean to you that she decided to produce your band?

[Spencer Pepitt]

I mean, it was a huge honor. Like, I kind of can't even accurately express that. Yeah, she had sung harmonies on another song of ours from our previous record. And we got a call, like, a couple weeks after she did that, and they said she wants to produce her next record and.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Okay.

[Spencer Pepitt]

I mean, of course. Right. And, you know, she's a wonderful producer. I mean, I kind of can't believe she hadn't done it before. She's so well suited for it and made the recording experience and the studio experience just so welcoming and warm. And she knows so much about recording. I think she got an engineering degree, like music engineering.

[Alison Stewart]

I was gonna ask what was different about recording with her.

[Mick Adams]

I.

[Spencer Pepitt]

We've been joking. She can kind of control time a little bit. Like, I don't know if anyone has made a record before, but you always kind of feel like you're running out of time because you have the studio for a set amount of days. You're trying to, most of the time, do more songs than you probably can or should in the time that you have. But working with jb, it always kind of felt like we were on the right side of the clock somehow, even when we definitely weren't. I think that she has a really wonderful kind of temperament for It. And we also kept everything set up so we could move between different stations. So if something wasn't working or we were getting frustrated and couldn't play a part, or for whatever reason, we would just kind of move around. It felt very fluid. And so I think, yeah, she can control time. I guess.

[Kate Goddard]

When you go on your Instagram, there's a little description of your music as moth music.

[Mick Adams]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

What is moth music?

[Spencer Pepitt]

Andrea coined that term when we started the band in high school, which is crazy. I think I know now what it means. Like, 10 years later. I would say it means cathartic, orchestral indie rock.

[Mick Adams]

Okay.

[Kate Goddard]

Our book this month follows this man who is trying to figure out his identity. Who he is, what he wants to be be, what he wants his relationship with his mother to be. He has questions about his own queerness. The last years have explored a lot of. You've explored a lot of identity in your own music and in the band. Where did ideas about identity fit into the music you make?

[Spencer Pepitt]

You know, I think I kind of feel like all music is about identity, whoever is writing it. So as we kind of started to explore these other facets for context, Joe, our bassist, and Mick, our drummer, are both trans. Mick is a trans man. Joe is a trans woman. And that stuff kind of bubbled up over the last few years, and they both came out, and I don't know, hearing them talk about it in this press cycle has been so wonderful and so illuminating. I feel like you don't often get to have, you know, trans people in conversation with each other, talking about something like a record that we have made together. Right. So I'll just kind of parrot what they said, which is it feels like we've all gotten a lot more confident in ourselves, and I think that is reflected in the music that we've made. I think that you can hear our voices more strongly, and I think that the choices that we've made musically have also been informed by the choices that we've made in an identity kind of way.

[Kate Goddard]

That sounds like a happy place to be.

[Spencer Pepitt]

Absolutely. It's amazing. It's great.

[Kate Goddard]

The album comes out on Friday.

[Mick Adams]

It does.

[Kate Goddard]

You release. You have a release show in Brooklyn this weekend?

[Mick Adams]

We do, yes.

[Kate Goddard]

What are you most excited about? You've had albums out before, but what are you really excited about? This tour and this. Around this album.

[Spencer Pepitt]

You know, it took a long time for this album to come out. We've been sitting on it for, like, three years. I mean, mixing it took a long time. And getting it kind of ready to Enter the World just took longer. And so I have been joking. I kind of feel like I've been pregnant for like three years.

[Mick Adams]

So I'm.

[Spencer Pepitt]

I'm really thrilled to kind of birth, I guess, the record into the world. Yeah, I'm really excited about these shows. I feel like our live set has gotten. You wouldn't be able to tell from this, but a lot louder. We're in a library, so we're being very quiet. But I feel like our live set has definitely gotten tighter and louder and more complex over the last few years. And I'm excited to play a lot of these songs live for the first time at these shows.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's welcome the Ophelias.

[Spencer Pepitt]

Thank you so much. This song is called Open Sky.

[Mick Adams]

Control me in your back pocket again I'm sorry for everything he said I don't see you anymore it's been three years I'm better off But I had heard what's going on on and I have got a single thought it's good.

[Joe Schaeffer]

For you.

[Mick Adams]

I'm really happy for you. You can take it how you wanna take it. No need for a separation. Maybe on the other side the dust will settle down to the sky.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Above me.

[Mick Adams]

At least you took the dog. He's 40.

[Joe Schaeffer]

I think you're better off.

[Mick Adams]

I know I was part of this and I know I'm not holding my breath. Things have changed. I don't have interest in rehashing. But I'll say this, Good for you. I'm really happy for you. You can take it how you wanna take it. No need for it. Separation. Maybe on the other side the dust will settle down to a good.

[Spencer Pepitt]

All right, this is our final song. Thanks again for having us. I'm so excited to read Mothers and Sons. What a wonderful Q and A. And I'm so excited to read it and thank you again for having us. This song is called Vulture Tree and our album comes out on Friday. Just so crazy to me. Thanks.

[Mick Adams]

Reconvene at the vulture tree count 117 days I scrubbed at the stain in the corners. What did you clearly say? Facing south at the river edge Pulling.

[Joe Schaeffer]

A sword from between.

[Mick Adams]

The rock and the hardest player they tell me to.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Get rid of you I have to burn effigy.

[Mick Adams]

But it didn't work on the vultures.

[Joe Schaeffer]

So why would it work for me? The experts say to clear the pain to set your memory up in flames.

[Mick Adams]

But the birds in the tree are laughing.

[Joe Schaeffer]

They know it's a game.

[Mick Adams]

Reconvene on the corner of elm Tell me I don't look sick anymore I'm walking like someone clicked autopilot Every car.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Is a mirror now.

[Mick Adams]

Every street light.

[Spencer Pepitt]

Is blinding.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Stuff me out like a.

[Mick Adams]

Fun house and leave me climb they.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Tell me to get rid of you.

[Mick Adams]

I have to burn an effigy but it didn't work on the vultures so.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Why would it work for me?

[Mick Adams]

Me the experts say to clear the.

[Joe Schaeffer]

Pain I set your memory up in.

[Mick Adams]

Flames but the birds in the tree are laughing.

[Joe Schaeffer]

They know it's a game.

[Spencer Pepitt]

Thank you so much for the Ophelias.

[Alison Stewart]

That was the Ophelias with songs from their new album Spring Grove. It's out today and tomorrow night they are playing the Broadway in Brooklyn. That performance was part of our get lit with all of it book Club event. And that is all of it for this hour. Coming up next hour, we'll talk about the new Broadway play Purpose with Tony Award winning playwright Brandon Jacobs Jenkins and actors Harry Lennox and John Michael Hill. Plus we'll talk about the recent New York Times article the Gen X Career Meltdown that's coming up after a break.

[N/A]

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